The Misery Fairy 6: Touchdown
by moor
Summary: Modern Uni AU. Follow-up to "Aftermath". A peek into what happens in their lives when they aren't at school or home together. Ryuuren x Shuurei, Kouchou x Seiran, Eigetsu x Kourin.
1. Chapter 1

**[May 2010][Prompt: New Growth][Free Word Count. Thank heavens]**

**Title: **Touchdown

**Author:** beyondthemoor on LJ

**Prompt:** New Growth

**Word Count:** Approx. 5,000 words

**Genre:** Humour, Family

**Pairings:** Ryuuren x Shuurei, Kouchou x Seiran, Eigetsu x Kourin.

**Summary:** Modern Uni AU. Follow-up to "Aftermath". A peek into what happens in the lives of Ryuuren & Shuurei when they aren't at school or home together. (Written for the May 2010 saiun_challenge comm's 2nd anniversary.)

**Disclaimer:** "Saiunkoku Monogatari" belongs to all its proper rightsholders, not me. If I owed it, there would be far more puns, lousy innuendo & nekkid sexy tiems goin' on, trust me. XP

* * *

"You're fired," murmured Kouchou sweetly into Shuurei's ear.

Not even bothering to roll her eyes at her boss-slash-sister's familiar taunt, Shuurei waved the woman's exotic cigarette smoke away from her face, her eyes never leaving the computer screen in front of her.

"You know smoking is bad for you. What if you're expecting?"

"Bite your tongue!"

Shuurei's teasing grin widened at Kouchou's vehement expression.

"And then who will you trust to do your books and housekeeping?"

"I'm sure Seiran could figure it out."

Shuurei allowed herself a small laugh as she nodded in agreement. "I'm sure he could, too, but would he allow you to get away with this," she pointed to one part of the screen, "or this?" the long column of numbers beside it. Teasing Kouchou and exploiting her weakness for shoe-and-handbag coordinates never got old for Shuurei. The fact that the older woman gladly kept Shuurei busy tallying up the expensive luxuries and writing them up as 'business expenses' right under Seiran's nose, knowingly providing her with plenty of viable blackmail if she really wanted to use it (and thus leaving herself vulnerable to another person), showed Shuurei about how serious her big sis was about firing her. Her job security was perfectly stable.

"_Hmph_."

Shuurei's eyes brightened warmly. "See?"

With a sigh, Kouchou languidly flopped onto a nearby settee in the intimate, elegant office of her condo. Her knowing eyes hid her thoughts from her 'unofficial' employee as she watched Shuurei work her spreadsheet magic on her account books. She really did need to start distancing the young woman across from her from 'the business', but she just didn't have many that she trusted—or felt were intelligent— enough to hand the responsibility over to. And it was true Seiran could do it, but he already did so much…

"Maybe I'll just give him the housekeeping this week, then, so we can have some girl-talk time. You've been working far too much recently, you know. Big sis has missed you."

"You just want to see Seiran in his apron."

The older woman's laugh was half-purr. "You have learned to understand a woman's motivation, Shuurei-darling, I'm proud of you."

* * *

Ryuuren looked up at the eight rather hefty, burly men who blocked his entrance to the campus's largest library.

"I didn't know the football squad recruited from the library. Do you need smarter people on the team?"

While a few growled and crowded closer, another held up his hand and uncrossed his arms from his chest.

"Rumour has it you're a genius, and you need an extra-curricular. We're making an offer you shouldn't refuse."

"I am honored by your charity, but must politely decline. I fulfilled all my extra-curricular hours last term through my Intermediate Pole Dancing 301 and Advanced Yoga 402 courses. Would you like to see my flexibility and technique?" Ignoring their aghast expressions, he folded himself into the Sun Warrior position and wiggled his fingers at them.

"You didn't write the exam for the Yoga—the teacher threw you out. Officially, you're 2 credit hours short."

The teacher had only thrown him out because he'd corrected her too many times and badgered her on her terrible form, Ryuuren remembered then. He wondered how the men across from him knew that, but he got an inkling when he saw 'Moose' poke his head around the corner before darting it back again_. Ahhhh…._

"Stop that. It's… unsettling."

The eccentric man ceased his finger-dancing and posing, much to the footballers' relief.

One of the rhinos tossed a jersey at him, while another thumped a helmet down over his head—flattening his 'do.

"We have light practice in an hour on the field behind the Activities Complex to review plays, and the game starts tonight at Shi Stadium at seven, so make sure you're there no later than six-thirty."

With that, the herd trundled off in search of food and distraction. Likely at the expense of the freshmen, Ryuuren had no doubt.

The last man dropped a heavy equipment bag at his feet.

A rather questionable-looking athletic support poked through the loose zip on the side.

_So 'Moose' wanted 'vengeance'?..._

Ryuuren ignored the bag and dropped the uniform and skull-bucket on top of it as he continued on his way to the library. He had promised to pick up a few books for Eigetsu, and the librarians liked to move him through quickly these days for some reason, he'd noticed.

Taking his flute from his backpack, he proceeded to announce his visit with a serenade as the library doors closed behind him…

* * *

Kourin smiled and gave a small, polite bow to the rag-tag team of volunteers assembled in front of her in the run-down kitchen.

It had been Eigetsu's turn to choose their 'together'-activity this time.

Obviously.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Kourin. Please treat me well."

Eigetsu smiled encouragingly at her and gave her a quick squeeze-hug to his side.

"She's come to help us out here at the soup kitchen for a day. Isn't that great?"

There were muttered _yays_ and _congratulations_ as a few gave Eigetsu an unimpressed, _'Are we done here?'-_look.

"Excellent!" the oblivious young man beamed at everyone. "Kourin, why don't you head over there to help with the dishes, and I'll be over here working on the vegetables…"

The pile was daunting, but the private-schooled student rolled up her sleeves, then reached behind her and tugged her apron ties tighter.

It wouldn't take long before Kourin decided the kitchen needed a bit of renovating.

* * *

"I didn't realize you'd moved!"

"How did you get here this morning?"

"Ryuuren drove me," answered Shuurei, setting down her glass of water. "I think he or his family own the condo we live in—he moved Eigetsu in, too—and he takes us back and forth to school, and sometimes takes me to work, too, if the weather's not very nice."

From his place at the stove, Seiran glanced over at his 'wife' and caught her meaningful look.

"Does your father know?" asked the silver-haired man, giving the wok a quick toss of his wrist. The stir-fry gave a satisfying hiss as the ingredients collided together on its hot surface. He was indeed wearing the black waiter-styled half-apron Kouchou insisted upon, and it snugly accentuated his hips and rear view very well. Not that Shuurei really noticed, but it hadn't take her long to realize why Kouchou seemed to appreciate the garment.

The youngest woman gave a small sigh and shrug. "I tried to reach him, and I left him a message at work, but I've been so busy since the move I just haven't had time to go visit him." She played with her cup, turning it round on the table. "Though since I moved into residence, he hasn't been keeping in touch with me much, either."

Another covert look passed over her head.

It had been a joint decision for Shuurei to move closer to campus; she'd wanted to stay at home and save money, but her father, Seiran, and even Kouchou had suggested she move closer so she'd have more time to study. It would also, they'd hoped, force her to _socialize_ a bit more instead of feeling like she had to work all the time to support herself and her father. The man wasn't a dead-beat by any means, but his priorities… and emotionally… he cared for his daughter, but didn't always make her do things she should do, either. In Kouchou's opinion, both Seiran and Shuurei's father had been a bit too overprotective, and it was dangerous for Shuurei to be so ill-prepared for the real world. The 'incident' had only served to reinforce this cause for concern.

The 'incident', from back when Seiran was still their house-guest, was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. Someone had broken in while Shuurei had been home—fortunately, Seiran had arrived home from work soon after and sorted things out. (Luckily, a matter of a simple misunderstanding and a swift, escorted exit.)

But it had left a warning to the rest of them that, despite the lovely old mansion being in a good neighbourhood, its dilapidated condition seemed to invite vagrants. (Who didn't understand it wasn't condemned, just in need of a jillion dollars in upkeep and repairs.)

No one wanted to risk a similar incident, where Shuurei may be on her own.

But no one had anticipated she'd move out on her own into another man's home, either. Or be sharing a home with two men, actually. (Even if they all knew she only cared for Eigetsu as a brother.) And as for the man in question, Ryuuren?... No one knew for sure what his motivations were. Rumours had exaggerated anything of substance.

But Ryuuren was part of the Ran clan. That clan and those connections could never be discounted.

Seiran and Kouchou looked at each other again.

"Well, there's no need to call Ryuuren for a ride home," assured the affectionate woman as she hugged Shuurei closer to her ample bosom. "Seiran will be happy to drive you back tonight!"

"Always," he smiled at her before turning back to the stove again.

"Thank you both," Shuurei gasped out as Kouchou squeezed her again. When her 'big sister' didn't make any move to release her, Shuurei started to wiggle a bit.

Then her eyes took on a subtle gleam.

"So, when are you two going to make me an auntie?"

The wok banged loudly onto the stovetop as Seiran lost his grip, and Kouchou's eyes blazed as she dropped Shuurei and nearly shouted, "Bite your tongue!"

"But you'd have such cute babies, 'neesan!"

"You hateful child, why don't YOU go have babies!"

"I'm sure Seiran would be an excellent father, 'neesan!" she wheedled. "How about twins?"

"Perhaps we could talk about something else?" Seiran's words were shaky as he braced himself on the counter beside the stove, lunch completely forgotten.

Shuurei couldn't help laughing at their expressions; she loved her surrogate family. She only teased them a little bit… and it was _mostly_ innocent.

* * *

The forks were dirty.

The spoons were dirty.

The knives were dirty.

The plates were _filthy_.

The cups were outright disgusting.

Lips pressed tightly together, Kourin looked over the heaps of dishes that her predecessor had 'cleaned' and piled on the counter, and asked her to set out on the serving cart for the expected patrons that evening.

_Oh hells no._

This didn't pass 'spec.

The kerchief Kourin knotted to keep her hair back only helped reveal her determined, emerald-hard eyes.

She rolled her sleeves up higher and started carrying the piles back to the warm, sudsy water.

The petite powerhouse was already planning what she and Eigtesu would spend their _next_ 'together' activity doing…

… and _he_ would be paying.

* * *

It was funny how often he kept being surrounded this term.

Ryuuren looked around at the men, all wearing identical scrub-uniforms for the practice, as they bore down on him like identical human freight trains.

He was beginning to think they'd deliberately let him catch the ball in play, just so they'd have an excuse to rush him.

For the twelfth time.

In a row.

Hmmm.

With a hop, skip and a jump, -and perhaps a bit of a sashay-the nimble young man danced his way around them, disappeared when they dog-piled on him (or so they thought), and called out a few seconds later from the end of the field, "I think that's another touchdown. Coach-sir?"

Mouths agape, the manager, trainer, team medic and coach just stared at him, stunned.

"How'd he do that?..." muttered one, still awestruck.

"I d'know… he vanished," replied another.

From the far end of the field, Ryuuren's hopeful voice piped up, "Can I practice my touchdown dance now?"

_"NO!"_ bellowed half the team, still shaken by the first (quite scandalous) version.

As the team captain hustled by the bleachers, the coach's arm shot out and grabbed him by the shoulder, a haunted look on his face.

"How… What…. Where did you find him? I've never seen anything like this before… We need to recruit him! NOW!"

"Uh…." The player squirmed visibly under the grizzled veteran's intensity. "It was a one-day agreement, sir."

"I am willing to make exceptions," the old man growled through his teeth at his star quarterback. "Now get me his name. Negotiate. _Anything_."

* * *

"Who was responsible for this?"

Kourin glared around at the slumped shoulders and disinterested eyes that surrounded her.

"This meat is dry and flavourless," she lifted the cover from one heat-lamp illuminated dish to the next, "these vegetables are obviously frozen, not fresh," she thrust an accusatory wooden spoon at a vat of… "And I'm not even going to dignify this by calling it 'soup'!"

Her dark hair had started to loosen from the confines of her kerchief and now curled in sweaty ringlets around her pink-cheeked face.

She spun around and gave the assembled volunteers another assessing look, before raising her spoon at them like a war major.

"Now I don't know who is responsible for this, but as of this moment, you are _officially under new management at this soup kitchen!_"

With that, the young heiress promptly re-assigned duties and oversaw the dumping of 'the nutritionless atrocity' as she referred to it. Next she arranged the entire crew around a single table and instructed them in how to properly prepare fresh fruit & vegetables, to sear the meat before putting it in the roasting pans, and to save the juices for soup base and gravies…

The young woman remembered in that moment, as her charges' fearful, wide eyes focused on their tasks, occasionally sneaking furtive glances at her impressive pose, that Eigetsu had been the sorry excuse for a kitchen chef who'd massacred the vegetables.

Oh, he was getting his decision-making privileges revoked again, she decided as she set up her line-cooks and brandished her spoon again to order their advance.

* * *

Along with her surrogate 'big sister', Shuurei spent the afternoon reviewing the past month's accounts, going through salary and expense reports, and exchanging a bit of personal gossip as to who'd been up to what and with whom. As suppertime rolled around, they met Seiran exiting the bathroom with a bucket of cleaning supplies and a content look on his face. He'd tied his long hair up in a high ponytail to keep it out of his eyes, and he gave them a quick nod which made it bounce as he passed by them to the kitchen.

It made the studious girl smile that he and Kouchou had finally stopped tip-toeing around their mutual attraction and finally settled down together. Not officially married, and never outright spoken or confirmed to be exclusive, that she was aware of, but now, to her, it was obvious the two were made for each other. And the fact that he'd been her 'big brother' and Kouchou had been her surrogate sister-mother since she'd been young… to her, it seemed 'right' that they'd found each other.  
Shuurei couldn't wait until they made their extended family a little bigger. She was sure Kouchou's overly vocal opposition to having children was more bluster and exaggerated, haughty vanity than truth. Somehow, Shuurei just knew that having children would make the pair happier than they already were—and going by the subtle body language and balanced power dynamic between them, she knew they were very happy already.

They'd be such wonderful parents, she thought to herself as she watched Kouchou hover over Seiran's shoulder as he scrubbed the sink, pointing out areas he'd missed or should do again—forcing him to lean over the sink over and over again as he bent closer.

Shuurei wanted to laugh at how agreeably her 'big brother' let himself be so dominated by her 'neesan.

With a happy, if a little sad, shrug as she sat on the leather couch, she bit her bottom lip and caught the heated look that passed between the two of them as Kouchou twined her fingers through her lover's ponytail with a smirk and slowly, gently pulled his head back.

Talk about power couples and power struggles, Shuurei thought to herself in amusement as she watched the game play out.

Now, if only they weren't the most influential, powerful crime syndicate leaders in the country's underworld, their cute little family would be absolutely perfect.

* * *

"_Touchdown!__!"_

-boomed the announcer wildly over the loudspeakers that night under the bright lights of the stadium—though he needn't have bothered, as he was drowned out by the crazed crowd that had rocketed to their feet to cheer their new hero. The cheerleaders had nearly gone hoarse with encouragement, the band had never played louder or with more gusto, and apparently the local news stations' feeds had gone state-wide in presenting the record-breaking, soon-to-become legendary game. No one had ever seen such impossible plays connect before, made such astounding catches, and seemingly been perfectly capable of going pro overnight by their newest addition. They were completely caught off-guard by their (albeit unconventional) new mystery player.

The rival team's coaches and other attendants were just as dumbfounded as the fans; just significantly less enthusiastic about the whole ordeal.

"He… I was sure they had him under the pile-up!"

"They took him down—how did he get to the other end of the field?"

"Is that skinny guy made of butter? Get on him!"

"Get me his name. We are willing to double whatever scholarship they are offering him!"

"Sir, we don't even know that we can authorize that kind of-."

"_Do. It."_

From his position in the end zone, weighted down by at least twenty pounds of modern armour, ignorant of the mass hysteria he'd triggered—and not a hint of the used 'athletic support' that had been offered him earlier that day—Ryuuren glanced up at the clock on the scoreboard and noticed he still had another seventeen minutes to go before the game was scheduled to end. And that was just playing time; it didn't take into consideration the time-outs, penalties, and other random, time-wasting calls that kept slowing him down.

The clock also confirmed he had about twelve minutes before Shuurei usually arrived home…

With a sigh, the tall man put his hands on his hips, cocking them to one side as he stared at the goal posts.

The tall, vertical posts that sort of resembled war-battered poles.

_Hmmm…._

There was no better time to present that touchdown dance.

Mind decided, Ryuuren signaled the time-keeping box with a pre-determined gesture to start the music.

Yes, it was showtime. They could hold him back no more…

…_from the poll._

The electronic upbeat tempo of a Lady Gaga number immediately poured through the field speaker system, and Ryuuren grabbed the white metal pole with both hands and hoisted himself up…

… and over…

… and back…

… and then slid down…

_Let's have some fun,  
This beat is sick  
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick_

(Ryuuren made to whirl around the pole, sending the crowd into a frenzy.)_  
I wanna kiss you  
But if I do then I might miss you babe  
It's complicated and stupid  
Got my ass squeezed my sexy cupid_

(The padding muffled the sound, but the spanking gesture was obvious from all angles…)__

Guess he wants to play,  
Wants to play  
A love game  
A love game

(While the music and dancing continued, the things the young man did with his hips were illegal in a number of different localities within their country, and the newsfeed had to be abandoned in those states due to censorship and public decency laws; including the province the player-dancer himself hailed from. There was to be much public outcry regarding this, later.)__

Let's play a love game,  
Play a love game  
Do you want love or you want fame?  
Are you in the game?  
Dans le love game?

(Ryuuren stripped off & whipped his jersey around like a lasso before hurling it into the crowd.)

Mothers covered their children's eyes; the rival team stopped dead in their regroup; the cheerleaders rushed to grab their binders and pens to take notes.

And Ryuuren?

_He didn't hold back._

Yes, the skills leaned in his Pole Dancing 302 extra-curricular class were finally getting their due.

As the last notes of the song wound down, Ryuuren took a bow and disappeared from the field in a puff of smoke and feathers.

_(Yes, __**feathers**__.)_

As the crowds roared and applauded (though the game still had the better part of its last quarter to play), the coaches on both benches leapt to their feet in disbelief.

They had to find that player!

* * *

Seiran looked around the entranceway one last time—noting the security system, cameras, digital locks and call/panic button all within Shuurei's reach—and smiled down at his 'little sister'.

"Now do you believe me? It's a good neighbourhood, it's bright, there's a security guard at the main desk at all times, and the grounds are both monitored and walked regularly." She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at his sheepish expression. "Ryuuren wouldn't put Eigetsu or me in a dangerous position. He cares about us. I think… The way you and Kouchou are my family, we are his."

"So should I be teasing you about having his kids?"

Pulling a face and trying hard not to laugh, Shuurei leaned back against the wall, tired from her long day. "You and I both know that'll never happen."

Grimacing slightly, his expression tightened. "I'm sorry, it slipped and I forgot…"

Shuurei shook her head. "It's ok." Then her eyes brightened again. "But you and Kouchou-neesan, however…"

Taking a deep breath, Seiran glanced down at her skeptically.

"I think you'd be really happy as a dad," she said honestly, not intimidated anymore by his 'look'. "I'm not sure what you're both waiting for… but… when it happens, I will be the first to congratulate you both. I want us all to be happy—you as a dad, 'neesan as a mom... You two deserve to be happy." She felt her heart clench. She'd never be a mother herself, but an aunt who could spoil, teach, discipline, and love her sister's children? Be a part of their life? Their family? Be useful to them, and help provide for them?

She wouldn't call it a dream… more like a goal. They just had to hold up their end first and start making mini-Kouchous and mini-Seirans.

Without a word, Seiran easily reached out to embrace her; it wasn't a romantic gesture by any means, but one full of love, regardless.

"You have no idea how much it means to us, both of us, that we have you, too." His words were muffled against her hair, but his voice conveyed the emotion clearly. "Thank you, Shuurei. And… you know we both want to have a family, too. It's just… not the right time, right now."

"Tax season?"

He laughed.

"Something like that."

"Well, just let me know when I need to stock up on laundry detergent and frozen meals to come help you two out during your first month. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"We're counting on it."

* * *

"… and then we're going to _Agent Provocateur_ and you're getting me no less than three matching bra and panty sets, and at least one has to be satin, and another silk. Are you writing all this down?"

"Yes, dear."

"Good. Then, once we're done shopping there, we're going to…"

Eigetsu nodded numbly and followed his girlfriend to the subway station that would take them home, still a little dazed at their day.

The food had been so good, they'd, of all things, started getting paying customers for the later supper service, and it had helped them not only recoup their earlier food-losses from the rejected meal of that morning, but also gain a small amount so they could replenish their stock with more fresh fruit and vegetables for future meals.

His girlfriend really was something.

Wonderful.

"Where did you learn to cook like that?" he asked her as they sat down on their bench seat. The subway car was mostly empty, and they spoke openly. He doubted her prep school prepared her for much domestic work beyond how to be the perfect hostess or trophy wife. Not that they slacked in their academics, it was a very challenging curriculum, but the school wasn't known for its more practical home economics programs.

"Like what?"

"Like… you did today."

Turning to look at him more fully, she tilted her head to the side as she thought about his words.

"I was taught presentation in school, and nutrition… but Shuurei was the one to teach me how to be resourceful and thrifty when it came to cooking… and to get my hands a little dirty."

Eigetsu smiled, put his notepad away (_Agent Provocateur_ didn't need to be broadcast, after all), and took her hand in his. But he didn't ask anything else.

"Hmm?" Curious, she watched him watch her happily, unsure why he seemed so content.

"Nothing."

With a soft _hmph_, Kourin leaned back and pretended her cheeks weren't blushing at all as his slightly larger hand threaded its fingers through hers to rest in his lap.

* * *

"So she's in a good neighbourhood?"

"Yes, though I know of a few places we'll need to send someone to knock on the door. Just a quick PSA should clear up those negative elements, though."

"That's good," Kouchou stretched and sighed, loving how her 'husband' straddled her back and rubbed her aching shoulders. All that time spent bent over him, supervising his every move, always put her back in knots. She rested her head on her folded, well-manicured hands atop her pillow. "And the house itself?"

"Very secure—definitely a Ran holding; Ryuuren's from the main house, so it may be entirely possible that he owns the entire complex and much of the surrounding area. I'll check in the morning."

"Thank you. I know I need to stop worrying so much about her, but still…" she glanced behind her when she heard Seiran's muffled chuckle. "Something to share?"

"And you call me overprotective."

"You are."

"Of course I am." He kneaded a particularly tense muscle until the woman beneath him sighed in reaction. A smile broke across his face. "And you are just as much, if not moreso. You're terrible."

She glared at him half-heartedly. "I could say the same. And watch yourself. If you're not careful, you won't get your reward tonight."

"Oh no?"

"No."

A predatory, almost challenging look entered his violet eyes.

With athletic male grace, he slowly raised himself up and slid down and off her body, to lie beside her, watching her with heavy-lidded eyes.

"You think you can hold out against me?"

"You dare to deny me?"

Kouchou's eyes reflected his lust and challenge.

"One rule: no hands between my neck and navel tonight."

Seiran's eyebrows rose slightly. "Are you all right?"

"Just a cold, I think. I'm feeling under the weather. Glands are swollen. Nothing serious."

"Still," he insisted, and rubbed her back once more to soothe her. "You stay here, I'll go get some water and acetaminophen. You'll sleep better."

"Thank you, Seiran."

She closed her eyes and heard him slip off the bed and pad quietly to the adjoining washroom to collect the pills from the medicine cabinet above the sink, and fill a glass with water.

The proud woman didn't let him know she'd been sore for several weeks now. She had no idea what she'd picked up, or where, but it was exhausting her.

"If it's still bad in the morning, you should give the doctor a call; you know he doesn't mind coming over."

It was a bit of a joke – no doctor ever refused when they called. They knew better.

"We'll see." She stifled a yawn and looked him over with bedroom eyes. "Now, what was that about holding out and denial?..."

* * *

Ryuuren arrived home in time to see Seiran driving off, Shuurei waving at him from the steps.

Though she didn't notice it, he caught the glint of a streetlight reflecting off a car that followed Seiran's a few moments later, and another two or three more after that.

He was used to it; Seiran and Kouchou were more than capable of taking care of themselves, but when it came to shuttling Shuurei around, their precious snowflake's security was spared no expense. No matter how obvious the little convoy was.

But then he noticed the limousine which had been parked across the road; it, too, started its engine and followed the other cars on their way.

Eyebrow raised in speculation, Ryuuren memorized the license plate as he walked up the steps to meet Shuurei.

She beamed at him in welcome. "Hi, how was your day?"

"The usual," he replied in a bored tone. "I went to the library and picked up the books that bosom-brother-of-my-heart asked for."

"Oh, Eigetsu'll be so relieved! Thank you for taking care of that, Ryuuren. Are you hungry? I can make supper…"

As he followed her inside, he remembered Kourin's warning. He had just under a day left.

He still hadn't figured out a plan.

"How come you have these little feathers caught in your hair?" she asked curiously as he held the door open for her. Then she paled. "Oh no, Ryuuren, we don't need to have another talk about homing pigeons and inappropriate pets, do we?"

* * *

The black limousine pulled slowly to the curb outside an upscale condominium complex in the heart of the city's most well-known underworld district.

The lone, adult passenger asked the driver to remain there a moment as he watched the windows across from him, trying to spy his elusive prey. Most of the glass was dark, their tenants long since gone to bed. The area was surprisingly quiet for housing so many leaders of the most dangerous organized crime and syndicate representatives, and he was taken aback. (But what had he been expecting, armed guards patrolling the streets with semi-automatic weapons, dark suits and sunglasses? Sheepishly, he admitted to himself that wasn't far off what his imagination had conjured up in the past.)

He caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye in a window at the penthouse level of the building; a familiar silhouette as it walked in front of a set of blinds, his outline more distinct when he passed a bright lamp. The walk and movement, the loose hair, the tall, lean frame…

A moment later, the lamp was extinguished and the room plunged into darkness.

But he'd seen enough.

"Ani-ue…"

* * *

AN: Well, more characters introduced! I hope you enjoyed this—a bit less funny, but there was more set-up in this chapter for later things to come, so it was a bit more difficult to balance. (Longer, too, oy!)

Written in 2 days, and based in part on a convo w/ imanewme (thank you for sparking the muse). ;)


	2. The Wise Fool

Prompt: The Wise Fool (from the June 2010 Saiun_challenge list of prompts!)  
Approx. 2,200 words

Disclaimer: All rights belong to their original rights-holders.

* * *

_You have until noon. _

Ryuuren glanced down at the phone's text-display and gave no reaction to the last warning Kourin had sent him hours earlier, before she'd gone to bed. It was four in the morning now, and he was still undecided on what course of action to take.

Not that he wasn't used to taking snap decisions, or making tough calls, but rarely had he felt such anxiety over their outcomes before. Normally it was a choice of a better-versus-best decision, or an obvious choice of how successful an outcome he (or his family) wanted. Before, he himself hadn't mattered in the equation, just the decision he conjured up, how the plan was to be enacted, how to manipulate or orchestrate others to do as he wished in order to achieve what was desired. Others had been anxious. Very, very anxious, actually, when he went through his usual deliberations, hanging upside down from whatever tree or lamppost was nearest, his head swinging side to side as he considered his options. But the deliberations hadn't really bothered him before; it was just what he did.

Yet… this time, the anxiety over the outcome he wanted was _his_ anxiety. The outcome would affect him personally, and not just him, but the person he cared most about. The person he was coming to realize he…

Ryuuren felt his heart tighten for a moment, then start to beat harder, sounding in his ears the more he thought about her. He paused for a moment in confusion, wondering what was going on.

… he _what?_

What outcome did he truly want?

Was his pending confession about more than just his inappropriate behaviour? Realization slowly poured through his veins, coursing through him uncomfortably, and causing him further anxiety.

He cared about Shuurei.

_Of course_ he cared about her.

_He…_

… he couldn't say it, he realized. It wasn't that he didn't feel it, he did. But to say it… To say it would make it more real, more than the trivial, if strange, wrong, possessive things he already did in regards to her. More than the awkward moments, the contrived dependence, the infinite support. To say it…

… _to say it to _her_…_

… to say it to her would mean exposing his vulnerability, his weakness, his dependence on her to her, and would mean having to listen to her potential rejection of his feelings for her, if she was of a different mind or heart.

It may mean saying 'goodbye', if she didn't return his feelings, and while probably not the end of their friendship (at least until he told her about taking her picture while she slept), it would mean distance, discomfort, and the loss of one of the few people who tried to understand him.

Who cared about him as a person, not a tool or pawn.

The young man's shoulders slumped slightly as he stared at the ceiling of his room, unsure if he wanted to find his answers there or not.

Perhaps a change in scenery was needed?

* * *

Still rubbing the sleep from his deep indigo eyes, Shuei stared through the peephole of his condominium door in bleary shock.

_It couldn't be…_

But the longer he listened, the more sure he was that was definitely a familiar-sounding flute serenade approaching.

Heaving a resigned sigh, and deciding there was no point avoiding the inevitable, he put on his most patient expression and opened the door to wave his younger brother into his home before the neighbours tried to lynch him for disturbing the peace again. It would be rather awkward to handle such a situation so early in the morning, given his profession.

"Good morning, Foolish Older Brother the Fourth!" Ryuuren greeted him heartily. "I come bearing gifts and news. Have you eaten yet?" He opened his knapsack and held out a pineapple; inside the bag's opening, Shuei spied a can of SPAM and a bag of bagels peeking through the opening in the top.

Foolish Older Brother glanced at the nearest clock and took note of the fact that it wasn't quite half past five.

"As a matter of fact, I haven't…"

* * *

"So I understand you've moved into part of your holdings," remarked Shuei as he propped his chin up on his palm, his elbow digging into the arm of the couch he was sitting on. Beside him, his plate of fried SPAM sat half-eaten. The pineapple was posed dramatically in the center of the table in front of him, untouched.

On the floor across from him, his back against a leather recliner, his younger sibling ignored him and picked at his food, occasionally eyed his surroundings, but behaved mostly obtuse.

Shuei was used to it. He was probably the only sibling who was 'close' to Ryuuren, and even that was a stretch of a description. Still, he understood when something was bothering him, probably more than anyone else could, and it didn't escape his notice that his brother was being remarkably well-behaved for having shown up pre-dawn, just to drop in and say, "Hi". Even the gifts he'd brought were functional, for once.

Which probably altogether meant he was in need of some help. Or help _out_ of trouble.

Again.

_Fantastic._

"So what brings you out here so early? Or are you finally warming up to your fellow family members? According to some, you've become somewhat more social since you moved out of your residence. I hear you're attending parties," he gave him an innocent look, which the younger Ran ignored, "you're making it to class regularly on time… And a little birdie sent me an e-mail last night that mentioned a rather memorable foray into the field of professional athletics yesterday evening." Said e-mail had also made mention of creative use of a goal post as a stripper pole, but he wasn't going to bring that up. Yet.

"Has my younger brother finally decided to leave his wild youth behind? Or perhaps embrace it more 'mainstream'-ly? Are congratulations in order?"

Still no reaction. Ryuuren poked at the contents of his plate in silence.

The policeman smiled as his thoughts ran away with him. "The next thing you know, I'll be hearing rumours you've settled down with a nice young lady and are coming looking for advice on how to dig yourself out of the doghouse."

Shuei chuckled to himself before he realized his brother had stopped fidgeting and now stared longingly at his flute.

The older Ran's eyebrows shot to his hairline.

"Foolish Older Brother is still more foolish than I give him credit for. Perhaps I should have called in our sister-."

"You shouldn't bother her, she has her own set of problems to deal with, you know that," his rebuke wasn't harsh, meant more to remind than chastise. Shuei looked at his younger brother, who resembled him so much it was eerie at times, and felt wonder fill his features. Had his eccentric younger sibling actually fallen for someone?

"Do I know her?"

Ryuuren turned his eyes away when he answered.

"Personally or professionally?"

_Oh, that's a very bad start. _Shuei almost winced at how careful Ryuuren was being. Something must be very wrong.

"Do I need to go make a call to calm down this young woman's father and assure her we'll take care of things?"

"No, I'll do that."

Shuei felt sweat break out across his forehead.

"When I asked earlier if congratulations were in order, I wasn't expecting you to confess you were making me an uncle before I went gray."

Ryuuren then looked at his brother askance. "What foolishness is Foolish Older Brother talking about now? Shuurei isn't that type of woman."

Obviously, he'd assumed the worst and his brother now thought the worst of him for it. _Why were things never clear with Ryuuren?_ Shuei thought to himself mournfully.

Raising a hand to his temple to try and rub out the tension headache that was already building behind his eyes, the older of the pair took a meditative, cleansing breath and tried again.

"So what is Shuurei like? Her name is familiar—is she from one of the noble families?" Some of them retained their naming systems through the generations, and he was sure he'd heard that name recently… But where?...

"She is the sole child of the Kou clan, the only direct descendant of Kou Shouka, clan head and advisor to the Shi administration. She makes wonderful manjuu, can fix anything, works harder than anyone I've ever met, and has the greatest sense of integrity I've ever encountered. I have taken advantage of her trust, repeatedly, and have less than six hours to figure out how to reveal who I really am to her and try and save our friendship before someone else tells her. And while normally I'd be able to handle such a situation, in this case handling it would mean hurting the only other friend I have, and I can't justify it. We've been living together for several months now, often sleep in the same bed, and I drive her every weekend to Seiran Shi and Kouchou's personal condominium where she works and socializes with the leaders of the country's underworld criminal leaders like family. She doesn't know the full extent of my personal or family history, and has never asked or made me feel like it mattered."

The young man paused for a second to take in his older brother's face as it slowly turned ashen.

"Also, I love her."

The more experienced man's eyes as he watched his brother ramble and stumble and rush through the explanation—the incredibly lucid explanation, at that—softened and he felt his mouth twitch with sad humour.

Shuei couldn't help it. He laughed to himself, and shook his head.

"You're definitely a Ran, young master."

"Is Foolish Older Brother the Fourth able to spare me hospitality for a little while?"

Surprised, he looked at Ryuuren. He wasn't selfless enough to admit what he said next was entirely altruistic. "You said you still had six hours," he hedged.

Ryuuren's expression slackened and his shoulders, those proud, strong shoulders that had held up their family and businesses for so many years, finally slumped as his chin tilted forward, his long hair hiding his eyes.

"Treasure-bead-of-my-heart will say goodbye to me when I tell her, and I won't be able to stay there without her."

_Oh, Ryuuren, _Shuei thought with a silent sigh. Truly, their family was cursed when it came to love.

"Does she know about the conditions you agreed to when you took over the condo?"

He shook his head.

"Does she know who we are?"

He shook his head again. "She has never mentioned anything about our family to me. Eigetsu, Bosom-brother-of-my-heart, knows."

"Does she know about your… preferences?"

"She doesn't know that I'm bisexual, if that is what Foolish Older Brother the Fourth is so tactlessly referring to."

Rolling his eyes, Shuei ignored the insult. He'd earned it, but there was no other way he was going to get the answers he needed before he formed his plan. At least, not in less than six hours.

"All right." Shuei regarded him one last time. Taking a final deep breath, he gave his brother a professionally blank look. "Now tell me, what did you do?"

Ryuuren passed his phone to his brother, directing him to the directory that held the photos.

Expressionless, Shuei scrolled through the pictures until he reached the end, and then returned the phone.

They looked at each other silently. Seeing her picture had confirmed her identity in Shuei's mind.

"You had to do this with a young woman whose father is part of the country's secret service and is, in the closest of espionage circles, secretly known as being one of the most dangerous and intelligent assassins ever created, didn't you?"

For the first time that morning, Ryuuren gave a ghost of a smile.

"My Treasure-bead is worth it."

Rubbing his hands through his disheveled hair, Shuei groaned.

"I am going to go gray from this, I know I am… and I'm going to blame you," he mumbled tiredly.

He glanced at the clock again.

"Ok, ask your friend Eigetsu to leave you & your Treasure-bead alone, for at least two hours, starting at around nine-thirty or ten. You won't want an audience."

"Foolish Older Brother the Fourth is willing to help?"

"Yes. Please don't make this a habit, though."

"Never. Foolish Older Brother needs all the beauty sleep he can get. I understand."

Shuei couldn't stifle his self-deprecating chuckle. _Ryuuren, if you weren't my own flesh & blood…_

But what Ryuuren didn't say, and what Shuei implicitly understood from his brother's demeanour, was that this would only happen once. Ryuuren had made up his mind about who he wanted in his life. He had rejected the majority of his own family, kept them all at a distance since his early childhood, gone out of his way to be eccentric to keep others at bay… and yet now wanted to keep this single woman close to his heart.

"Well, let's work this out…"

* * *

**TBC**

AN: Working on that confession sequence – the first draft didn't jive right, and the next two re-writes were worse. Here's for one more go!

Posted 23 July, 2010.


	3. When I get my hands on you!

_**[Week 80] [Word Count 400+ words] [Theme: When I get my hands on you...]**_

**Prompt: When I get my hands on you…**

Pairing: Ryuuren x Shuurei, Kouchou x Seiran, Eigetsu x Kourin  
Rating: M  
Author: **beyondthemoor** on LJ  
Beta: nikolita! (Thank you for beta'ing this... as I typed it!) XD

Summary: Conclusion to the Modern University AU. (Follow-up to "Aftermath" "Touchdown" and "The Wise Fool".)

Words: approx. 5,000 words  
Week 80: Prompt: When I get my hands on you…  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

Seiran shook his shaggy, sleep-mussed hair from his eyes and walked down the hall to the entranceway, the polite, if insistent, knocking having roused him from his sleep early that Sunday morning. His lover still lay fast asleep under their blankets, completely undisturbed. In his efforts to give her some time to rest herself, he'd crept as quietly as he could from their bed. She was normally a fairly light sleeper, but the past few mornings, nothing could wake her until she was good and ready. He'd debated preparing tea when the door had sounded.

Opening the outer door of their condo, though, nothing could have prepared him for his surprise visitor.

"Aniue!"

Strong male arms flung themselves around his middle, trapping his arms at his sides, and a blond head buried itself in his shoulder, comfort and excitement warring for dominance.

Shell-shocked to the soles of his slippers, Seiran felt his chest tighten in recognition.

"Ryuuki?" he breathed.

* * *

The faint rumbling emanating from outside her room woke Shuurei that morning. It was with some trepidation that she noticed her bed was… _humming?_, or vibrating faintly, too.

Eyes opening widely as she took in her surroundings, the lovely young woman bolted upright in surprise—or tried to.

She was caught half-way by the seatbelt across her lap; and the light blanket tucking her snugly into her seat.

…Seat?

Not _bed_?

Definitely not bed – she was indeed quite upright.

Thoughts whirling faster in growing suspicion, Shuurei glanced about her and noticed the small, rectangular windows beside her; the leather seating; the undersized television screens in the back of the seat in font of her…

Her wine-coloured eyes flashed with indignant fury.

"_Ryuuuuuureeeeennnnnnnnn!"_ she screamed between her tightly clenched teeth.

From his spot across the cabin of his private jet, the young man waved the steward closer as he sat gazing longingly as the object of his affection.

"S-s-sir, is your young companion all right?" asked the man carefully, trying not to fidget with his tie at the blood-curling sound.

"Absolutely perfect," he replied, smitten. The dreamy look never left his face.

Of course, the 'object' in question took that moment to declare very clearly exactly what she would do to her 'bosom friend' when she got her hands on him, if he didn't turn their plane around _right now_ and take her home again.

In a way, he could hardly wait until they had their heartfelt discussion, where he could admit his feelings, confess what he truly felt for his beloved Treasure-Bead-.

In less than a split-second he was dodging (by a hair's breadth) the meal-tray she frisbeed at him, only to have it lodge itself into the cabin wall beside him where his head had been but a moment ago.

… Then again, perhaps he should have asked her permission first, he reconsidered, noting the wild, angry flush about her cheeks.

They were only going two or three countries away, though. Was it really such a big deal?

The cup—minus its coffee, thankfully—whipped past his nose and struck the seat ahead of him, cracking the tv touch-screen.

… _Apparently, it was._

* * *

Eigetsu wasn't faring much better in his camp.

He raised his arms up placatingly for the _–enth_ time that morning.

"I'm sure she's perfectly fine!"

"That son of a-!" Kourin ripped a pillow from their bed—she hadn't bothered sleeping in the cot they had provided for her for her visit since her first night with Eigetsu on the couch—and hurled it angrily at the wall. "She isn't perfectly fine; he's been stalking her obsessively, you idiot! How did you not notice?"

"Huh? Ryuuren doesn't stalk Shuurei…"

"Are you blind?"

Completely confused, Eigetsu shook his head as another projectile rocketed past him.

"No, he doesn't stalk her, really."

_Fwoooosh!_ went another cushion, and he ducked out of instinct. "Or, at least, it isn't as if Shuurei doesn't let him."

"WHAT?" Kourin whirled on him, and his hands immediately flew up in self-preservation mode again.

"If it was a real issue, she could stop him with a word. Shuurei isn't as oblivious as she seems, Kourin," he tried to explain, thinking of their rather strange friendship-slash-living arrangement and what he'd learned or figured out of his roommates since their relationship's inception. He considered his words carefully before continuing.

"If Ryuuren's up to something, she's aware of it, at least in some respect. And she's smart enough to know how to manage him and his… quirks. After we all met as frosh, she sort of became his overseer; she picked up on what made him 'tick', and learned how to work with him, understand him. No one else ever spent time with him as a friend, as a person, until we all met. She did. She learned to sleep lightly because of his visits in the middle of the night and everything, because she knew sometimes, all he needed was some company. And her dad knows about him and stuff."

Freezing as she raised a blanket she'd torn from the end of their bed, the fiercely protective high school student slowly turned her head to stare at her boyfriend in shock.

"What are you talking about?" she whispered incredulously.

"Well, apparently Shuurei's dad caught Ryuuren sneaking around their mansion once, looking for Shuurei, and after that he sat down with Shuurei to explain she needed to be more aware of her surroundings—and friends. Her friend-slash-foster-brother, Seiran?"

"…Yes…?"

"He taught Shuurei martial arts, self-defense or something along those lines, when she was younger so she'd be able to take care of herself a bit if he wasn't there, and it sounds like she learned how to set up some security around herself, too. She's had a hidden camera in her room, whether at home, in the dorm, or here, ever since she was young. I think her father was overprotective or worried about kidnapping, you know? So Shuurei knows if anyone's trying to stalk her. She's not ignorant of people the way others assume of her." As his girlfriend's entire demeanour changed before him, the green-haired former medic realized something very serious was amiss with his beloved. "She isn't… as innocent as everyone believes her to be. I think Shuurei has hidden depths even we, her closest friends, don't know yet."

"Kourin-luv, how much do you know about Shuurei's family? What her family truly is, not the front she puts up?... You know they're more than they seem, right?" he hedged gently, not wanting to betray confidences that weren't his, he waited for her reply.

Her hands slowly lowering to drop the blanket she'd yanked on earlier, Kourin paused and looked down, down at her feet.

Watching her, Eigetsu grew concerned.

"What's wrong?"

Kourin remained silent.

"Hey?" He moved to her, touching her arm with his fingertips, taking her hands in his and bending down to look into her bright green eyes.

For Kourin's part, her thoughts were a mess, and this was probably reflected in her watering eyes.

_Had Shuurei known all along about Ryuuren? Had Ryuuren known Shuurei knew? Had they been playing with each other, protecting themselves, protecting each other by feigning ignorance of each other's true motives and feelings? For how long?_

Had she fallen into some kind of delicate, subtle mind-game the two of them were playing with each other?...

… or had she triggered something irreparable in her well-meaning interference, something that could never be taken back again once loosed?

"What have I done?" she murmured, looking up at her boyfriend as he collected her into the circle of his arms.

With a patient, understanding sigh, Eigetsu rested his chin on top of her sleek hair. "I'm sure it is nothing that can't be fixed, with those two. They're tensai." _Well…_ "Mostly."

He stood with her, holding her close to him, for a few minutes, his own mind wondering at the strange situation. When they'd woken up, they'd been escorted out and given a ride to an upscale shopping center and provided a blank credit card – which seemed to have no limit. They'd been gone for a few hours, and when they'd returned, it had been to an empty condominium. It hadn't taken long for Kourin to figure out they'd been hoodwinked in order to give Ryuuren the time to 'kidnap' Shuurei…

And of course, as a result she'd felt horribly guilty and responsible for the disappearance of her good friend.

But Eigetsu wasn't surprised that, as the morning wore on, Kourin's guilt over any possible negative influence she may have played in the 'great disappearance' and relationship between their friends was slowly overshadowed by her anger at having been duped by his roommates and their covert intentions—whatever those intentions were.

"When I get my hands on them…." She was seething by lunchtime with her fists clenched tightly.

When he heard that, Eigetsu sighed with relief and knew everything would be just _fiiiiine_.

* * *

The plane touched down an hour later, providing Ryuuren with several more hours of time before his deadline—since Kourin hadn't confirmed in which specific timezone it was supposed to be 'noon' when he spoke with Shuurei.

The latter had calmed down visibly since her tantrum on the plane, and was now tiredly rubbing the bridge of her nose as she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders to conceal her nightgown from anyone on the tarmac who may catch sight of her. Not that there were many others around. She wondered if it was a private airstrip. That would be just fantastic. Alone, and severely underclothed, and who-only-knew-where.

Because she had nothing else to wear, obviously, after having been abducted in her sleep.

"We have readings to do, we have assignments to write, I was supposed to volunteer this afternoon," she listed off to herself, under her breath, as Ryuuren waited patiently for their ride to pull up to the plane. "But did that matter? Of course not! How am I supposed to pay my portion of the rent when I'm not even in the country!... When I'm in…" She looked around for a sign, a landmark, even a license plate that may indicate where they'd landed.

There were no clues.

Her eyes burned lividly, and she nearly dropped her blanket-toga when her hands shook with emotion.

"And where are my clothes!" she suddenly burst out, her irritation overcoming her patience.

Adding insult to injury, he offered her his trademark neon hoodie.

Gritting her teeth, she snatched it from his hands and vowed to burn it… as soon as she found something better. But for now, at least it kept her warm.

"Thank you," she muttered ungratefully, "now, where is the closest Goodwill?"

He glanced at her in confusion.

"I need trousers, too!"

Ryuuren didn't pause as his hands went to his belt, and—

"GOODWILL! TAKE US TO GOODWILL! Salvation Army, something!"

"Tally-ho!"

…and off they went.

* * *

More comfortably dressed in jeans, t-shirt and cardigan, finally, Shuurei leaned tiredly against the door and window inside the car, her eyes closed as she tried to salvage what was left of her composure.

He'd really done it this time.

She had no idea where they were going in the car; no idea what country he'd taken her to; had no way to contact her father or friends to ask for help.

In total… she was completely isolated, and reliant on Ryuuren. It made her acutely aware of how much she trusted him, in some ways, -because she knew he would never let any harm befall her—but also how much she still felt uncertain about him. Because he was still acting obtuse, refusing to give her any answers at all as to why they'd 'vanished' from the condo so suddenly, without even giving her a chance to make a call or pack her things. Something was off. Ryuuren was unusual at times, yes, but he'd never done something this extreme. Moving her things to a condo? Ok, yes, perhaps; but _kidnapping_? Never.

Oh, she was sure she could figure out a way to make money to find her own way home, eventually, but…

… but what had pushed him to act so rashly? His normal unconventional behaviour and moods were one thing, but this? This was off the scale. Something had obviously triggered his territorial instincts.

… or protective ones, she realized.

Because Shuurei had known him for almost four years now, and she could recognize him when he was in one of his… phases… and this was obviously a sign he felt threatened by something.

He was worried about her.

And the only way he knew how to handle it was to pull her right out of her life and hide her away.

She'd had a feeling he may resort to something like this at some point, but she'd never expected it to truly happen.

As the car changed course and started climbing what was obviously a steep incline, cornering sharply and often, she opened her eyes minutely to look outside, and saw they were heading up a twisting mountain road.

Her captor must have caught sight of her more wakeful state, as he quietly turned to look out his window, and speak. Instead of his usual exuberance, however, his voice was distant, apologetic, and serious.

"Does Treasure-bead-of-my-heart remember what she said in her residence room, the last day of her internment there?"

"It wasn't a prison sentence, Ryuuren, it was my dorm…" She replied tiredly. "And no, I don't…"

"'_I will hunt you down and ransom you for rent money from your family if you get me kicked out of here, so quietly! Please!'_That's what you said."

The words floated back to her, vaguely, and she realized suddenly where they were going.

She lunged across the seat and grabbed him by the front of his sweater—the one she'd returned to him when she'd bought, with his money, clothes for herself—her eyes furious.

"We are NOT going to visit your crazy family, do you hear me?"

"They're already expecting us. They can't wait to meet you-."

She tightened her grip, cutting off his airways. Her eyes went wide as she stared murderously into his violet ones.

"_We. Are. Having. A. Talk. Right. Now."_Still holding him, more or less by the throat, she shot forward towards the driver and in an authoritative voice, ordered, "Turn us onto the first side road you can find. Park, and walk away."

Their chauffeur glanced up in the rearview mirror, met Ryuuren's gaze, and at his master's nod, did as requested. Shuurei's fingers remained tight in his sweater while she moved away from him; he wasn't released just yet.

It was quiet inside the vehicle a moment, as Shuurei breathed hard, panting in anger, actually, at what Ryuuren had been intending. She waited until their driver had made it a fair distance, at least out of hearing range, before acting.

Looking down at her kidnapper, however, she felt her heart tighten inside her chest in conflict.

He deserved a good thrashing. He really, really did.

But at his distant, somewhat sad expression, her shoulders relaxed, eventually fell. Sliding across the bench seat, she loosened her grip on his sweater to place her hands on his shoulders instead, leaning forward across him, her head tilting forward as her hair, still as loose as it had been all day, slid over her shoulders to hide her face.

Her sigh was soft, full of all her anger and frustration, but she let it all go in that one breath.

"Oh, Ryuuren," she murmured in understanding, letting out a long exhalation as she knelt beside him on the seat and embraced him, her arms wrapping around behind his neck.

"Treasure-bead has always known, I think, that I work for my family." His voice was remote, not at all the usual energetic expression most were accustomed to receiving from him.

"You don't have to, Ryuuren. You can be your own person."

"Not if I want to look after you."

"I can look after myself. I can protect myself. I am capable of more than just school work, you know that." And when he still wouldn't look at her, she pulled back a bit and tried to get him to meet her eyes. "And you look after me just fine… in your own way."

"My family could give you more. My brothers have mentioned your family favourably."

She felt herself stiffen slowly at his implication, though she didn't mean to.

"So are you acting for them, or are you acting for yourself? Am I nothing but a marker, tool, advantage to your family, too?"

His violet eyes were dark, cold, but flashing with something hard behind them. "Never, Shuurei," he said, turning finally to look back at her. His use of her proper name broke another barrier between them, baring their honesties to each other more fully, facades slid to the side. "But you need to understand I am a pawn, too. I have always been theirs. Theirs to use, theirs to control, theirs to exploit. That will never, ever change. I never wanted you to get mixed up in any of this. I tried to keep you, and Eigetsu, clear of things. But…" He looked away again, this time at his feet.

"But?" she prompted, stroking his hair. His had been tied up in a ponytail that morning, but had gradually loosened through their morning.

"But… when you were kicked out of residence, I had to act. It was out of responsibility to both you and my family."

He looked up at her again, their eyes met.

"It wasn't because of me that you were kicked out of residence. It was my family who pressured the school to remove you. They wanted to force you into a closer relationship with me so you would become dependent on me and my family, would grow to owe us privileges, once you moved on in your career."

Shuurei's dark brows knit at the far-fetched scheming. "But how…-."

He leaned his head back against the headrest; her hands were trapped behind his head and neck, but neither minded. "That way they thought they would be able to manipulate you and your decisions later, as you gained power. They have been one of your scholarship sponsors, Shuurei. They can see your potential, have been watching you for years. They know about your family's connections," at his words, she stiffened again immediately, "and they want to have you in their pocket, too, to exploit."

His voice darkened.

"Just like me."

"But… I haven't even applied for a job yet… I'm still in university…"

"For now," he agreed, but his tone implied more.

"Shuurei," he said again a moment later, and the young woman couldn't help the flutter that it caused in her to hear him say it. "Did Eigetsu ever mention the conditions of our living arrangements to you?" He was relieved and miserable in equal measure that he could finally address her as he'd always wanted to, as his real self. As an honest man.

"You mean your condo? No. Just… that he thought your family may have owned it."

The self-deprecating smirk on his face hurt her.

"The entire complex, along with the better part of our neighbourhood—up until the reach of your family friends Kouchou and Seiran—are my personal inheritance. I recently took on their management on my own, to function autonomously from the rest of my family's holdings. A test of sorts of my abilities. But they came at a price."

Deep in her belly, Shuurei felt her unease writhe and coil, tighter and tighter as their conversation continued.

"What do you mean?"

His eyes scanned her face, resting on her eyes and lips, and for the first time he reached out to her to run his hand gently over her cheek, cupping her beautiful face in his palm. Long, capable fingers threaded into the loose tendrils of her onyx hair that slipped free.

"You know why I am the way I am," he said.

"You are Ryuuren." _My friend,_ she thought to herself.

The edges of his mouth turned up in a sad smile again. "I am the heir to the Ran Conglomerate, Shuurei." He paused as he watched the confession sink in with her. "And the reason I was permitted to take over my personal shares early is because I answered my family's summons."

A summons was never good news to the youth of the noble ranks, she knew.

"What did you answer them?"

But she had a feeling she already knew.

"I told them I wanted my holdings, that I was ready for them. That I could accept their conditions and would abide by them." His eyes were as sad as his smile. "I'm so sorry, Shuurei. I never meant for you to get so entangled in all of this. You, most of all, I wanted to be free. Free like I could never truly be."

"What conditions?" She could feel her heart swelling, ready to burst with indignation for him, for the way his family had treated him. What they'd expected of him. What he'd had to surrender, give up, forfeit in order to survive.

"That I was going to settle down, marry, and take over the company from now on." He held her gaze. "My inheritance, my family's wealth, is mine to control now," he said, his voice full of apology, "as long as we're together."

"Do you want it?"

"No."

"What do you want?"

"Freedom."

"What is freedom?"

His eyes softened. "I don't know."

Confused, Shuurei leaned back and stretched slightly, her back aching from the crouching position. Seeing her discomfort, Ryuuren let go of her hair and settled his hands on her waist, pulling her easily up and over his lap to straddle him, a knee on either side of his hips.

"There. Your back?"

"Better, thank you." She couldn't help the flush across her cheeks.

He noticed, raised his hand to touch her face again, but paused, dropping his hand once more. With all his confessions, he wasn't sure where he stood in her eyes anymore. If he even ranked as her friend, after all his deceptions. So instead, his hand rested in his lap.

Shuurei tilted her head at him questioningly at the gesture of retreat. He was amazed at how calm and composed she'd been through their discussion, after their driver's withdrawal.

He realized something else, then, and the light in his eyes flared for a second before burning out again.

Shuurei noticed.

"Hmm?"

Outside the car, a light drizzling rain had started. The driver had taken refuge under a tree, digging an umbrella out from his travel-pack.

The raindrops pelted the car softly in rhythm.

"You knew. You already, maybe always, knew."

It was her turn to smile sadly. "You mean about your 'front'? The way you acted difficult in order to keep others from relying on, abusing or asking too much of you? The way you tried to provoke me into revealing I knew you were spying on me for your family when you'd sneak into my room?" She smiled more warmly, though her eyes were getting warmer, too. "The way you would kiss my forehead at night when you thought I really was asleep?"

He didn't speak. Couldn't.

"Oh Ryuuren. You know what my family is, are… What I am destined to become unless I find a private company that will have me. I didn't want to deceive you. I never meant to hurt you."

He couldn't argue with that. He had no grounds to.

So he was surprised when he felt her trembling, her face hidden from him behind her hair…. And the wetness that fell from her face onto his.

Her heartbroken laugh broke softly over him, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.

"I'm so sorry, Ryuuren. I'm just so sorry."

The rain fell harder outside, but didn't muffle the sound of her harsher breathing inside the vehicle.

"… I never meant for you to get hurt, either," she confessed.

"Shuurei…"

Their facades stripped from them, they sat, their arms held loosely at their sides, unsure of what to do.

But through some unspoken confession, they leaned into each other, their arms encircling them, and gently buried their faces in each other's neck, seeking comfort.

"I'm sorry, too," he admitted. "You don't deserve this. We're just…"

"Pawns," she chuckled darkly through her sniffled, and he smiled.

"Pawns," he agreed.

And he wasn't sure what possessed him next to do what he did, but as he spoke the words, he turned his face towards hers as she did towards him. Their breath mixed and passed over their mouths, so close each could feel the heat from the other's lips on their own.

Inside, both knew that there were honest feelings between them. Feelings of respect, adoration, admiration… love.

…and lust.

Their eyes opened slightly, each focusing on the slightly parted lips of the other before them. The tension they'd felt for so long coiled in their lower bellies, and started to slowly flood their systems with what they'd had to deny themselves for so long. Too long.

Hesitantly at first, then more deliberately, Shuurei moved her face forward, her lips gently pressing onto Ryuuren's.

"Tell me to stop," she whispered against the smooth skin of his lips. She kissed him a bit harder, then again, gradually bending forward, sinking into him as his hands slid from his lap to her hips to her waist, her body melting into his as he pulled her against him, her kisses moving from his mouth to his jaw to his lightly stubbled throat. "Tell me you don't want this and I'll stop."

"What if I don't want you to stop?" he whispered back, his mouth now against the sensitive crook of her slender neck, his tongue laving attention on her pulse before he applied subtle pressure and sucked softly, earning a muted gasp in response. Shuurei felt heat pooling in her belly, spiking with each ounce of pressure he applied to her flesh.

"As long as it's mutual," her fingers threaded through his hair, pulling his head back to expose more of his throat. With one hand, she trailed her fingers over the skin of his neck and pulled the sweatshirt away from his pulse-point, kissing it, and letting her hand continue down to rest over his heart.

"It is," he assured her, and she felt his hands caress her back, encouraging her tighter against him until her breasts pressed against his chest.

And all the while, both felt the need, the urge, the desire to just take something for themselves for once, not for their families, while still offering a chance, a choice to the other, to share, to give something unforgettable that would brand themselves onto each other.

Shuurei's hands slid under Ryuuren's sweatshirt and nudged upward; he took the hint and lifted his arms. In response he pulled her cardigan down her shoulders, exposing her arms.

Of course, the roof of the car limited their movements, but it didn't stop them.

With a muffled grunt, Ryuuren twisted his body to slide down the seat until he lay across it on his back, pulling Shuurei on top of him. As their positions shifted, their bodies met in more intimate ways and both arched at the contact, groaning softly. Normally renowned for their self-control, the pair of adults in that moment were consciously abandoning their roles, seeking responsibility, indulgence, only for themselves. And it felt very, very good.

"Your driver?" she asked, her fingers pushing up his t-shirt, exposing his leanly muscled chest and peppering it with kisses. He leaned forward, his torso rising to allow her to pull it off entirely. He returned the favour swiftly, and Shuurei soon straddled him topless apart from her bra. Her pale cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright and dark simultaneously. Her long hair fell about her shoulders in dark curtained waves.

Ryuuren had never seen anything so beautiful.

"Won't come near us until I invite him."

"Good."

With that, she ran her hands down his front enticingly, tracing his treasure trail and sliding a finger teasingly along the waist of his jeans and boxers.

In turn, he reached up behind her and undid each hook that held her soft, now-pebbled mounds in place.

When Shuurei arched her back to grant him better purchase in the material, he felt the top button of his jeans pop open, followed by the sound of his zipper sliding down.

His eyes suddenly very wide, he grabbed her wrist quickly.

Surprised, Shuurei glanced down.

Concern lining her face, she paused. "Do you not want to?"

Oh, he most certainly did.

_But…_

"I don't have anything with me."

She looked confused for a moment, before realization dawned. She smiled at him, slightly pained, but also somewhat relieved.

"I'm covered."

"Are you sure?" he asked, having never forgotten the stern warnings instilled in him as he grew up as a young man in his family's household.

"I can't have children, Ryuuren," she admitted, and there was that sadness in her eyes again, that acceptance, that last secret she'd held back from him.

_So that's why she'd…_

He cut his wayward thoughts off before they ran away with him.

Because he had far more important things to do now.

Like his soon-to-be lover.

"Are you sure?" And both understood by his tone that he didn't mean her condition regarding whether or not she could have children.

"Yes."

The windows fogged around them as they removed the rest of each other's clothing. The driver waiting for them outside the car, down the road, was ignored as Shuurei was lifted one final time to straddle Ryuuren's lean, firm body, her knees resting on either side of his hips, her pelvis aligning with his as his hands massaged and readied her.

"Last chance to decline," she said softly, holding her palm against the side of his face, trying to memorize the feel of him under her fingers.

Holding her gaze, he took her hand and guided down, down, until she held him and he shifted his hips, rolling them against hers.

"Whenever you're ready," he said.

And with slow, careful strokes, they joined.

As he focused all his concentration on not exploding within her wonderful warm channel, Ryuuren remembered what had driven him to go so far out of his way for this woman.

"Shuurei?" he gasped as he rolled his hips up to meet hers, rocking further into her slick depths until he reached the spot that made her eyes flutter and her smooth stomach go taut with pleasure.

"Yes?" She was panting as she eased herself up and down on his length, gradually finding her rhythm matching his as he held and guided her hips. Soon her feminine muscles contracted around him, gripping him, massaging him, and he knew he was so close.

He had to tell her, now.

Their eyes met.

"I love you."

…Their poor driver was left in the rain, forgotten, for the next several hours.

* * *

When Ryuuren and Shuurei returned to their condominium, several days later, of course they'd missed Kourin's return home. They'd missed their classes, and due dates for their assignments, but somehow that was smoothed over and they were allowed to submit their work without repercussion or reprisal. Shuurei wryly asked Ryuuren if she should mail his family a thank-you note, and he assured her it was already covered.

Shuurei received the shock of a lifetime when Seiran walked her home and introduced her to his 'long lost' younger brother, Ryuuki, whom she greeted politely before turning her attention back to Seiran (who confided that perhaps she should start trying to keep her calendar clear, in about 7 or 8 months time). In her excitement, she missed the curious, thoughtful looks Seiran's younger brother shot her as she hugged his big brother. Kouchou wasn't quite as enthused, but perked up considerably when Shuurei reminded her she'd be coming to help them, so to leave everything to her.

And as their last school year ended, Kourin eventually forgave them all for their deception—after a few lectures on friendship and integrity. And Eigetsu proposed to Kourin—after a few lectures from Shuurei on how to treat Kourin properly. And Eigetsu and Kourin moved into their own small apartment, once Eigetsu was recruited as a medical advisor for a federally funded research grant in public health policy. Shuurei thought it would be a perfect fit for him.

As for her, and Ryuuren…

Well….

They made the most of things.

… and the sex was totally hot and kinky.

(That's exactly what you've been waiting to hear. Don't deny it.)

;)

And the visit to his family?

… I'll get to that later. Expect pornsy-lulz, if and when I have more time.

**The end.**

-mm

* * *

AN: Confession time: Er, I'm sorry, I admit, I don't like the ending I've written, but I figure it's time to tie this story off. If more inspiration hits in the future, I may come back to it later.

But, regardless of that, I hope you've enjoyed! XD


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